Ivar's

Ivar's was founded in 1938 by Seattle folk singer Ivar Haglund. Having built Seattle's first aquarium on what is now Pier 54, he decided to add a companion fish and chips bar to feed his visitors. The bar was short-lived, however. On July 22, 1946, Haglund opened a new restaurant, Ivar's Acres of Clams, at the same location. The aquarium closed ten years later, but the restaurant remains.

Ivar's has two other full-service restaurants: Ivar's Salmon House in Seattle's Northlake neighborhood, and Ivar's Mukilteo Landing in Mukilteo, Washington, near the Washington State Ferries terminal. There is a fishbar outside of all three full-service restaurants. All its other locations are seafood bars. There are several Ivar's and Kidd Valley locations at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners, that are operated by the ballpark's concessions contractor. The outlets serve garlic fries along with other seafood fare.

Nard Jones remarked in 1972 that Haglund was "not afraid to reflect Puget Sound tradition in the decor of his restaurants, whereas others of his profession seem intent on making their patrons forget where they are." In this respect, he singled out the Salmon House, "an almost exact replica of an old Indian longhouse."

Every Independence Day from 1964 until 2008, Ivar's sponsored the Fourth of Jul-Ivar's festival and fireworks show at Downtown Seattle's Myrtle Edwards Park on Elliott Bay. Ivar's estimated its attendance at around 300,000 people. On April 3, 2009, Ivar's announced it was no longer sponsoring its Fourth of Jul-Ivar's community fireworks show. Ivar's decided to focus its efforts on feeding families in the Pacific Northwest through its partnership with Northwest Harvest.

The soups and chowders used in Ivar's restaurants are manufactured at a plant in Mukilteo by Ivar's Soup Company, a subsidiary. The plant also produces packaged soups for retailers, including some private label products, in the United States and Mexico. These soups are also sold onboard Washington State Ferries vessels and Amtrak Cascades trains in the region. In 2021, Kettle Classic Clam Chowder with Uncured Bacon, sold only at Costco, was recalled in 13 states for plastic in the Chowder.